Last throw of the dice for Casino Bill?

TESSA JOWELL could drop plans to relax gambling laws if the issue threatens to derail Labour's General Election campaign, aides have admitted.

Rather than have an embarrassing fight over the controversial measure, the Culture Secretary might withdraw the Bill, already watered down after a widely-backed campaign led by the Daily Mail, and bring it back after a May 5 General Election.

The humiliating move emerged amid growing fears that she faces a lengthy battle when the Gambling Bill returns to Parliament this week.

Her aides insisted initially that the Government was still determined to push the legislation on to the statute book 'as soon as possible'. But when pressed further they refused to rule out abandoning the Bill and re-introducing it once New Labour is safely re-elected.

Walking away from the Bill for any length of time at this stage will be seen as a major admission of failure. And there is no guarantee that Parliament will approve the legislation in this form after the election.

The Gambling Bill still has some way to go before it passes into law. It returned to the Commons for its final stage on 24 January and that will carry on in the Commons until it goes for its second reading in the Lords tomorrow.

After that it still has to undergo detailed scrutiny in the Lords committee stage starting on 22 March.

With an election campaign likely to be called on 7 April, it is likely the Bill will still be deeply embroiled in the Parliamentary process long before the final vote is due to be taken.

Jowell has told friends that she is not prepare to make any more concessions to ease the Bill through. In December she staved off a tumultuous back-bench revolt only by announcing plans to limit the number of new casinos in the UK from the original planned total of 40 to 24.

A decision to 'pull' the legislation would anger US gaming giants who have warned that if there are any further concessions to opponents they will not invest in Britain.

British-based casinos are furious with the proposal to allow the US gambling firms to enter the market on terms which they say are unfair to bookies and amusement arcade operators.

In a protest campaign, which opened yesterday with newspaper advertisements, the British Casino Association is urging that the home-grown gambling industry should also be allowed to benefit from freer laws.

The Government has decided to allow eight new 'mega-casinos' with each to have up to 1,250 fruit machines offering £1m jackpots.

A spokesman for the Culture department insisted that official policy was still to force the Bill through. But when pressed he admitted withdrawal was an option, saying: 'I cannot get into what will happen if they take too long or the General Election is called.'